1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, to correlating cell site performance with external events.
2. General Background
To ensure reliable operation of modern cellular and PCS (personal communications service) systems, redundancy and monitoring of system-critical elements is key. For example, if a remotely located component (such as a power supply, for example) in a base transceiver station fails, the component's failure can be automatically reported via an electronic alarm. Typically, if the component is critical and the nature of the component allows, a redundant component can keep the base transceiver station (or part of it) online while a technician responds to the alarm by replacing the failed component. Unfortunately, not every critical or important component or system can be electronically monitored, especially if a failure is “soft”—that is, degrades performance without forcing a system or subsystem to go offline. A system that can correlate such performance degradation with possible causes is desired.